Stab Magazine | DHD wins Stab In The Dark!

Live Now — Episode 3 Of Surf100 Challenge Series Presented By Pacifico

652 Views

DHD wins Stab In The Dark!

  Social photos by Matty Wong   Tonight in Venice Beach, Stab, Swell.com and Hurley hosted the global premiere for Stab in the Dark. A fabulous mix of leather, denim and skin brushed around 800 Main, spilling House Beer, Boyd and Blair Vodka and Jose Cuervo Tradicional on a packed rooftop. Following a redirection to the second floor at 9.25, the mini-documentary starring Julian Wilson was shown onscreen, and the winner of Stab in the Dark was announced.   The overriding goal of this project was to see if we could answer the question: Is it possible to call a surfboard the best in the world? Sure, it’s a flawed objective. A board’s performance is subjective. But acknowledging this, we invited 12 of the world’s best shapers to each create a board for an unidentified 6’0”, 80kg CT surfer. Fast-forward some months and Julian Wilson was standing in the garage of a West Oz rental, opening two coffins full of cleanskin boards – no markings, no stickers, no pencil on the stringer, nothing identifiable – one from California, the other direct from Sydney (even more background info, here).   Jules was a real sport this evening, giving time to anyone who wanted to talk. Even he didn’t know who made the winning board, but knew it would be one of the crafts hanging from their tails along the second story wall. And it wasn’t until the documentary reached the final board of the countdown that the winner was announced: DHD, by Darren Handley. Julian feels out the DHD #99. Photo: Chris Gurney Winner: DHD #99   Once the announcement was made, Jules and Darren shook hands, hugged, and Darren was handed a framed Stab in the Dark issue cover. He forewent a speech, with the vibe instead moving into Todd Terje’s Inspector Norse turned up to 11. Jules and Darren continued talking boards for another 10 minutes while the party went on around them. And then, really feels it out. The best overall performer underfoot. Photo: Ryan Miller. Says Julian of the DHD: “I knew this board was going to work! It felt the best under my arm out of the batch and was always going to be a dream going frontside. It was fast, super responsive, exciting and definitely the best board. It felt pretty money!”   Runner up: Chilli #01“To have any chance of surfing on your backhand you have to be able to come off the bottom without hesitation, otherwise there’s no chance of doing a backside reo,” said Julian of the Chilli. “This was one of the only boards that gave me that confidence. A great all-rounder.”   Third place: Mayhem #31“I liked the feel of this board, I reckon I could take it out anywhere and have a good time on it; lefts or rights,” said Julian of the Mayhem. “It felt spicy. Spice is excitement, the feeling that really technical and high performance moves are possible.”   Final Stab in the Dark results (as chosen by Julian Wilson):1. DHD #99 2. Chilli #01 3. Mayhem/Lost #31 4. JS #23 5. Panda #10 6. Sharp Eye #13 7. Channel Islands #03 8. Dahlberg #16 9. Simon Anderson #00 10. Robo #36 11. Stamps #05 (tied with Robo) 12. Pyzel (Did not arrive)   The Stab in the Dark mini-documentary drops on Stabmag.com at 10:30am Thursday, Pacific time. It’s 15-ish minutes long and features one of the world’s most technically perfect surfers pushing himself on bespoke (but blind date) surfboards in Western Australia over 10 days. You won’t wanna miss it. We’ll also be dropping a short profile series on the shapers in the coming weeks. Stay tuned.

style // Oct 19, 2017
Words by Stab
Reading Time: 3 minutes

 

Social photos by Matty Wong

 

Tonight in Venice Beach, Stab, Swell.com and Hurley hosted the global premiere for Stab in the Dark. A fabulous mix of leather, denim and skin brushed around 800 Main, spilling House Beer, Boyd and Blair Vodka and Jose Cuervo Tradicional on a packed rooftop. Following a redirection to the second floor at 9.25, the mini-documentary starring Julian Wilson was shown onscreen, and the winner of Stab in the Dark was announced.

 

The overriding goal of this project was to see if we could answer the question: Is it possible to call a surfboard the best in the world? Sure, it’s a flawed objective. A board’s performance is subjective. But acknowledging this, we invited 12 of the world’s best shapers to each create a board for an unidentified 6’0”, 80kg CT surfer. Fast-forward some months and Julian Wilson was standing in the garage of a West Oz rental, opening two coffins full of cleanskin boards – no markings, no stickers, no pencil on the stringer, nothing identifiable – one from California, the other direct from Sydney (even more background info, here).

 

Jules was a real sport this evening, giving time to anyone who wanted to talk. Even he didn’t know who made the winning board, but knew it would be one of the crafts hanging from their tails along the second story wall. And it wasn’t until the documentary reached the final board of the countdown that the winner was announced: DHD, by Darren Handley.

Julian feels out the DHD #99. Photo: Chris Gurney

Julian feels out the DHD #99. Photo: Chris Gurney

Winner: DHD #99

 

Once the announcement was made, Jules and Darren shook hands, hugged, and Darren was handed a framed Stab in the Dark issue cover. He forewent a speech, with the vibe instead moving into Todd Terje’s Inspector Norse turned up to 11. Jules and Darren continued talking boards for another 10 minutes while the party went on around them.

And then, really feels it out. The best overall performer underfoot. Photo: Ryan Miller.

And then, really feels it out. The best overall performer underfoot. Photo: Ryan Miller.

Says Julian of the DHD: “I knew this board was going to work! It felt the best under my arm out of the batch and was always going to be a dream going frontside. It was fast, super responsive, exciting and definitely the best board. It felt pretty money!”

 

Runner up: Chilli #01
“To have any chance of surfing on your backhand you have to be able to come off the bottom without hesitation, otherwise there’s no chance of doing a backside reo,” said Julian of the Chilli. “This was one of the only boards that gave me that confidence. A great all-rounder.”

 

Third place: Mayhem #31
“I liked the feel of this board, I reckon I could take it out anywhere and have a good time on it; lefts or rights,” said Julian of the Mayhem. “It felt spicy. Spice is excitement, the feeling that really technical and high performance moves are possible.”

 

Final Stab in the Dark results (as chosen by Julian Wilson):
1. DHD #99
2. Chilli #01
3. Mayhem/Lost #31
4. JS #23
5. Panda #10
6. Sharp Eye #13
7. Channel Islands #03
8. Dahlberg #16
9. Simon Anderson #00
10. Robo #36
11. Stamps #05 (tied with Robo)
12. Pyzel (Did not arrive)

 

The Stab in the Dark mini-documentary drops on Stabmag.com at 10:30am Thursday, Pacific time. It’s 15-ish minutes long and features one of the world’s most technically perfect surfers pushing himself on bespoke (but blind date) surfboards in Western Australia over 10 days. You won’t wanna miss it. We’ll also be dropping a short profile series on the shapers in the coming weeks. Stay tuned.

Comments

Comments are a Stab Premium feature. Gotta join to talk shop.

Already a member? Sign In

Want to join? Sign Up

Advertisement

Most Recent

Matty McG Skydives Into CT Heat, But Jordy’s Still The Main Event

A full day of heats at J-Bay, and only one shark warning.

Jul 12, 2025

Controversial Opinion: No One Needs To Yoga In Boardshorts

12 Trunks for the traditionalist.

Jul 12, 2025

Correction: J-Bay All Foreplay, No Climax

Slim pickings on Day 1 of the Corona Cero Open J-Bay 2025.

Jul 11, 2025

What Do Hollywood, Surf Lessons, Michael Jackson And Traction Pads Have In Common?

A Stab Interview with Teva Dexter, the man behind surfing's hardest new hardware brand —…

Jul 10, 2025

Surf100 Challenge Series Presented By Pacifico: Episode 3

"The tribe has spoken," Dane Reynolds pronounced, and a surfer's torch was snuffed.

Jul 10, 2025

How Josh Ku Nearly Died Trying To Cross From Ulus to G Land by Hydrofoil

“If someone finds me dead at least they can find my phone and know what…

Jul 10, 2025

Expect No Kiss, All Climax At The “World’s Most Perfect Pointbreak”

A Corona Cero Open J-Bay 2025 preview.

Jul 9, 2025

SEOTY: Liam O’Brien stars in ‘Friction of Perception’

"Hopefully I don’t come across like too much of a peanut."

Jul 8, 2025

10 Shapers To Watch In The Next 10 Years — Part One

“It’s like a drug empire, man. Cut the head off the snakes, and more will…

Jul 7, 2025

Mason Ho Joins Ritual Vision, Releases Remix Of Greatest Hits

Dion Agius riffs on the eyewear brand’s U.S. expansion, Ritualistic Tendencies, and the new stars…

Jul 7, 2025

Is It Time For A New Judging Format?

We have a modest proposal — a WSL head judge disagrees.

Jul 7, 2025

Luke Thompson Turns Last Year’s Priority Disaster Into Ballito Gold

+ earns himself a wildcard into Jbay.

Jul 7, 2025

Fiji Has Its First Professional Surfer, And He’s Unbelievable

16-year-old James Kusitino’s incomprehensible tube lounging leads to a deal with Former.

Jul 6, 2025

Laird Hamilton on The Limitations of Being a Purist, Invention vs. Ownership + Why He Never Had a Sticker Deal 

Untold stories from his How Surfers Get Paid interview.

Jul 4, 2025

When Surfer’s Eye Is Actually Cancer

Erin Campbell's brutal journey from surf camp dreams to chemo drops, cryotherapy, and surgical horror.

Jul 3, 2025

Surfing’s 2025 Q2 Report

An assessment of surfing's vital signs throughout the second quarter of 2025.

Jul 2, 2025

What Actually Happened to Occy’s Mad Max Plunger Pool In Yeppoon?

Surf Lakes’ brass talks: internet hecklers, the unplugging of the plunger, and the Tom Curren…

Jul 2, 2025

Poor Goofy Foots 

Data shows that the world is stacked against goofs — they even make 15% less money than…

Jul 1, 2025
Advertisement